(L) Cross game

[BetoJR]

Originally Posted by iamthewalrus

anyways just watched finale, I'm happy with it but I've realized that theres no adachi series running at the moment. I need my adachi fill!!!

Sure there is. Granted, it's not going as well as some might have liked, but I do enjoy it, whenever I'm able to read it.

As for Tatsu and Kou similarities... I'd say they are very similar, myself. And I do love both characters, as well.

[Willen]

The similarities between Tatsuya and Kou are like that between Wakaba and Akane. On the surface they seem alike, but look deeper and you find some distinct differences.

Spoiler for just in case:

While Tatsuya and Kou have very laid-back personalities, the former is quite the lazy slacker while the latter is actually a fairly diligent individual. Kou actually trains from a young age as a pitcher in secret due to his admiration of Aoba's skill and dedication. Tatsuya, on the other hand, while athletically gifted, only gets into comparable physical shape to Katsuya by being railroaded into boxing. Most of his early success as a pitcher is due to his natural athleticism. Even then, it takes the demon coach to build up his stamina and shore up his drive to win. In some ways, Kou is more like Katsuya.

[Guardian Enzo]

Spoiler for spoilerish comparisons between CG and Touch:

After having read only 1 volume plus 2 chapters, I would say Kou and Tatsu are quite different. Tatsu is much more socially adept than Kou, for one, and a much less responsible boy. This is due in part, no doubt, to the fact that his own "Wakaba Event" (yes, I know about it) hasn't happened yet, whereas Kou had already lived with his for four years by this point in his life. I can of course see the similarities too, as I can between all the pillars of the story and even the supporting cast. This is Adachi after all, and no one is more internally derivative than he is. That's probably the single biggest legitimate knock against him as a writer, but it's loads of fun to see how he takes superficially similar characters and plots and subtly paints their differences. Because no one does subtle like Adachi...

[Theowne]

Certainly you will find differences between them simply because the story itself is different and they have had different life experiences at these stages in their lives. However, I still think they are pulled from the same general "stock" - though you've all made quite a good case about their differences.

BTW Am I losing my mind or was the brother's name Kazuya and not Katsuya? Or is this an anime/manga thing?

Also Guardian Enzo, to be hypersensitive for a moment, a part of your post could be considered a mild spoiler for Touch.

[Proto]

Yeah, and I really think we should move to the corresponding thread for this conversation before someone kicks us out.

[Pellissier]

Yes, it is borderline talking. Several people may not have seen Touch, so there's no real reason to discuss it here (more so without using spoiler tags), even if it's a comparison.

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by Theowne

Certainly you will find differences between them simply because the story itself is different and they have had different life experiences at these stages in their lives. However, I still think they are pulled from the same general "stock" - though you've all made quite a good case about their differences.

BTW Am I losing my mind or was the brother's name Kazuya and not Katsuya? Or is this an anime/manga thing?

Also Guardian Enzo, to be hypersensitive for a moment, a part of your post could be considered a mild spoiler for Touch.

Sorry about that - I will spoiler tag any Touch related info of that nature...

[Guardian Enzo]

On that note - I opened a Touch thread on the manga board. Seemed odd to me not to have one. Only 23 more volumes to go!

I'm up through episode 4 of the re-viewing of CG. Best line of 04: "Blue ones!"

[Guardian Enzo]

Episode 5 ("Can I Borrow Your Cooking Pot") is even more compelling, with the benefit of hindsight. This was the ep that sort of opened my eyes that something truly special was going on here, though at the time I wasn't completely sure why. Now I know - the lack of cliche, the depth of unspoken emotion subtly portrayed, the first real proof of what an amazing kid Kou was and just how conflicted Aoba was.

I've said it before, but I find Kou's relationship with the rest of the Tsukishimas almost as moving as his relationship with Aoba. Such an afterthought of a relationship - just Aoba's kid sister after all - yet this episode pays so much respect to it, and it shows the viewer so much about all three of the characters on screen. The entire New Year's sequence is so realistically portrayed as the three kids go about their day. Much attention, I recall, was given to Kou's grabbing Aoba's collar when she might her thoughtless "Go ahead and die!" comment to Momiji - and rightfully so, as it's a powerful emotional shift in the series. But this was a watershed episode for other reasons. In hindsight it marks the first real thaw in Aoba's feelings for Kou - in my view, because she sees for herself how much he cares for Momiji and in that moment, truly understands what Waka-chan loved about him.

One other interesting element is that Kou and Aoba (a 15 yer-old boy and 14 year-old girl!) casually sleep together in the same futon. Further evidence that whatever her protestations, Aoba is completely comfortable in Kou's presence and, in a sense (at this stage) forever 10 years old in his presence. And when she hugged him in her sleep, there was no cliche moment of misunderstanding. He simply closed his eyes and went to sleep, and when he woke up (before Aoba, natch) untangled himself and cooked them all breakfast.

[MeoTwister5]

Man not having internet connection on vacation is hell. Posting here from a terminal in Singapore's Changi airport.

Gonna rewatch everything when I get home. I'm still trying to hunt down the complete Touch series but being poor right now doesn't help.

[Heibi]

Originally Posted by MeoTwister5

Man not having internet connection on vacation is hell. Posting here from a terminal in Singapore's Changi airport.

Gonna rewatch everything when I get home. I'm still trying to hunt down the complete Touch series but being poor right now doesn't help.

I'll have to get 1-27 reseeded for you. 28-42 are available. I'm remastering them from our originals now that I have the DVDs.
http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=to...nfo&tid=120812
http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=to...nfo&tid=120975

[Kanon]

Finished watching it today. I'd like to thank you guys for advertising Cross Game as you did, I doubt I would have even noticed the series without that. Yup, those things happen. Truly a great anime ! I really regret not picking this up sooner, I would have liked to follow it weekly, I'm sure it would have made me love it even more. "Marathoning" a series this long is just not the same.

That said, I still loved it a lot. Pretty much everything was perfect, though I expected to see more romance and less baseball (this really bothered me in the early stage of the series). The best thing about the series for me were its characters, and that's also where my only complaint lies: Mizuki. What the hell was the point of his character, other than giving me urges to strangle him? I thought he'd be a love rival when he first appeared, but it's made clear pretty much right away that he has no chance whatsoever with Aoba, which makes him useless, and he sort of dissapears into the background after a few episodes. And in the few instances he appeared, it was just to be obnoxious. I was thinking the whole time that Azuma would have made a better rival and... that's what happened later . It should have been that way from the start. In a way, it makes Mizuki's character even more pointless. Speaking of Azuma, I think his character development is the one I enjoyed the most throughout the series. He can even smile now !

Akane is another character that bothered me at first. Bringing in a Wakaba clone out of nowhere seemed like a very lame trick to use to easily introduce a new love interest for Kou. But I actually warmed up to her pretty quickly, and as opposed to Mizuki, her character was actually very useful. I think she greatly helped Kou, Aoba and Akaishi get over their issues. Though I still find it creepy that everyone was interested in her just because she's Wakaba 2.0, at least at first. Must have been really weird for her...

Aoba is easily my favourite character. There's so much to say about her... but I'll just post this quote from the final episode:

Spoiler for Just in case... final episode spoiler:

"I've always always hated you !" <- BEST CONFESSION EVER

Such a tsundere, that Aoba... and the final scene at the train station is just great.

Hmm, I think I'll stop here or I'll go on for hours if I get started on the good points. Ended up writing more than I intented to already

PS: I really liked the pictures Poko-kun posted a few pages back. Nice cosplay !

[Theowne]

Originally Posted by Kanon

Mizuki. What the hell was the point of his character, other than giving me urges to strangle him?

I also get the impression that Adachi might have thought of having him as a rival at first, but changed his mind quickly. When Mizuki is first introduced, he didn't give off as much of a dorky air, if I remember quickly, but it seems like Adachi decided Azuma would be better in that role and wrote off Mizuki as a not-particularly-amusing comic relief character. He was essentially pointless.

Originally Posted by Akane

Akane is another character that bothered me at first.

Akane bothered me at first and I was still somewhat bothered even by the end by her entire role in the series. Something is just unsettling to me about the entrance and quick settling-in of her character into the close-knit cast based to a certain degree, at least, on an essentially meaningless physical resemblance. I know there's many responses one could make to this but...it just never clicked perfectly with me.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Theowne

Akane bothered me at first and I was still somewhat bothered even by the end by her entire role in the series. I know that most other people here have accepted her character and have their own idea of what role she plays in the series (I think someone said she provides the acceptance of KouxAoba that Wakaba is unable to provide). However, something is just unsettling to me about the entrance and quick settling-in of her character into the close-knit cast based to a certain degree, at least, on an essentially meaningless physical resemblance. I know there's many responses one could make to this but...it just never clicked perfectly with me.

I think the biggest problem is that even at the end of the series, Akane is still a Wakaba substitute. It even seemed like she accepted that role. She never really became her own character, at least not in my eyes.

[Proto]

On the contrary, I think that Akane is her own character, it's just that it is very subtle. But there do are some very important differences between Akane and Wakaba's character. To the point that, like it was hammered to us, Aoba is far more similar to Wakaba than Akane is where it matters.

[Theowne]

Originally Posted by Proto

But there do are some very important differences between Akane and Wakaba's character.

There are more than enough differences between Akane and Wakaba's actual character or personality, and I don't think they are particularly subtle either. I suppose that itself is the reason I am disappointed by certain aspects of her role in the series due to a meaningless physical resemblance, which others may or may not agree with. It just doesn't convince me. Especially when the show focuses on a relationship as long and meaningful as Aoba and Kou's.

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by Kanon

Akane is another character that bothered me at first. Bringing in a Wakaba clone out of nowhere seemed like a very lame trick to use to easily introduce a new love interest for Kou. But I actually warmed up to her pretty quickly, and as opposed to Mizuki, her character was actually very useful. I think she greatly helped Kou, Aoba and Akaishi get over their issues. Though I still find it creepy that everyone was interested in her just because she's Wakaba 2.0, at least at first. Must have been really weird for her...

I shared your journey in my view of Akane's character, as I think a lot of posters here did. As for Mizuki, he was clearly the weakest of the "major" characters on the series although I do think he served one purprose - to force Aoba to start thinking of herself as a young woman. Just the notion of having a guy openly interested in her, for starters - but also forcing her to change the way she behaved around the house. Problem was, as soon as that initial purpose was served he became essentially useless.

[poko-kun]

Mizuki...at least helps Aoba aware that she is a woman. ^^"

[Kirarakim]

I agree that Mizuki was the most useless of the "main characters". In fact until reading these latest posts I didn't even know his name. I was just calling him Aoba's cousin.

[MeoTwister5]

I will have to admit that even after I started reading the manga I still couldn't remember his name.